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The Local Government Association (LGA) have revealed that homelessness spending now accounts for 60% of councils’ housing budgets, reducing their ability to provide much needed affordable social homes.

The continued cost-of-living crisis has had devastating impacts on housing and individuals and new research from the LGA demonstrates this. The organisation found councils in England are spending three times as much of their housing budgets on homelessness and temporary accommodation than they did in 2015.

Experts also discovered council spending on homelessness has increased by 42% since 2015/16, up £733m.

As for now, spending has surpassed £1bn in 2023/24 and is stretching budgets much further than a decade prior when local authorities paid £315m to support people experiencing homelessness.

‘Homelessness pressures on councils are spiralling as a larger proportion of their budgets is put towards costly temporary accommodation due to a lack of social housing,’ Cllr Claire Holland, leader of Lambeth Council.

‘The way to properly resolve the issue is to address the shortage of suitable housing across the country and build up councils’ stock of social housing.

‘Councils need to be given the powers and resources to build affordable homes their communities need so they can resume their historic role as a major builder of affordable homes.’

In addition to councils being stretched with forking out to help support people sleeping rough, the LGA has also warned that a record-high 113,000 households in temporary accommodation means councils are spending £1.75bn annually. Researchers likewise remarked that both figures are due to rise in future.

Following these shocking statistics, the LGA has called on the next government to reform right to buy to allow all homes sold to be directly replaced as well as exemptions for newly built homes.

The council-led group is also campaigning for the abolition of permitted development rights, which allow commercial buildings to be converted to residential without planning permission, and an increase in affordable housing programme grants to keep on top of inflation.

Image: Etienne Girardet

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Despite a General Election being underway, Ian Barnett, National Land Director at Leaders Romans Group, explores the idea of having a future free of politics impacts on the development sector. 

As those who have put forward land for development will know, the process from a local plan’s ‘call for sites’ to a land sale typically stretches beyond the length four-year political term. And yet development is all too easily derailed, or substantially delayed, by short-term political thinking. 

This is demonstrated time and time again. Earlier this parliament, Boris Johnson made a conference in which he said that he would not support greenfield development, and as his comments ricocheted around town halls up and down the country, many local plans were halted.

Another impasse occurred following Liz Truss’ comment about ‘Stalinist national housing targets’ and then Rishi Sunak’s substantial changes to national planning policy and the effective scrapping of housing targets. Both were the result of a political rebellion fuelled by entrenched NIMBYism within communities.

Many local plans are now stalled and landowners are left unsure of the future potential for their territory. In every case, local politics is the root of the problem: residents resist development and the councillors that represent them fear an own-goal, scored by the notorious ‘political football’.

Democracy has had an active role in planning since the first Town and Country Planning Act in 1947. I am not endorsing a US-style, market-led approach to planning which deprives residents from having a voice. But the next election must not be fought on opposition to development

While there is undoubtedly a role for local voices in development decisions, it is clear from the new towns delivery programme and the establishment of development corporations that housing targets are only met when decisions are outside the remit of local authorities.

An ‘infrastructure first’ approach which brings together infrastructure, housing, energy and climate change in a de-politicised environment to expedite the creation of new settlements is part of the solution.

In the UK, the closest we ever have got to this model was the Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) which were introduced by the last Labour government in 2004. RSSs established a spatial vision and strategy specific to a region, for example, including the identification of areas for development with a 20 year timescale while also providing direction for local development frameworks on a local (borough / district) level.

They provided a cohesive approach to housing targets, transport planning and regionally-specific policies which is so problematic within the two-tier system. Even then, politics hampered progress: they were denied time to crystallise and ultimately withdrawn before they had chance to come to fruition.

Saying ‘yes’ to utilising land for development works best top-down, rather than bottom up. Ideally, a national spatial plan could kick-start development strategically and effectively. Community involvement would have a role to play within this national approach and of course only land put forward for development by its owner would be considered. But engagement process must be efficient (is three rounds of consultation on a design code alone really the best route to fast-tracking development?), and consistent. As neighbourhood planning has demonstrated, the potential for a specific community to impact on planning decisions lies in that community’s demographic: neighbourhoods with a professional, prosperous and permanent demographic are likely to exert more power than deprived areas with transient communities.

As recent politics has demonstrated, speeches berating development of greenfield land and the surrender of housing targets might bring about short-term political success. But to enable the sale of land suitable for development, create new settlements, and in doing so, achieve the (political) goal of providing the housing that this country needs, requires long-term commitment. A government which could enable this – if necessary, by relinquishing some local political power – could achieve and a lasting legacy for which they would be proud.

Images: Ivan Bandura and Heather Mount

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There are at least 309,000 homeless people in England today – a figure that’s been rapidly increasing since the cost-of-living – and many experts have claimed tackling this issue should be a priority for the next prime minister.

As of this morning, polls have opened their doors in the UK for the first July General Election since 1945. Polling stations, which have been set up in buildings like churches, community halls and schools, are set to be open between 7:00 and 22:00 BST on Thursday.

Ahead of polling stations closing later, below you will find a run-down of Labour’s and the Conservative’s parities pledges to help tackle the ongoing housing crisis.

Conservatives

The Tory party have laid out plans to deliver 1.6 million new homes should they be successful today. There is a promise to do this in the ‘right places while protecting our countryside.’

Back in 2021, the party announced similar goals as they planned to produce 300,000 new houses by the mid-2020s however, according to the latest government data, they only managed to produce 234,000 a year.

In addition to creating new places for people to live, the party have also outlined that, should they be re-elected, they plan on bringing back the Renters (Reform) Bill which was first introduced in 2019. In their manifesto, the party is dedicated to passing the Bill, ‘to deliver fairness in the rental market for landlords and renters alike’.

Plans include abolishing Section 21 – ‘no-fault’ – evictions and strengthening other grounds for landlords to evict private tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour. A number of charities have supported this decision including Shelter – the UK’s leading homelessness charity. Research by YouGov, which was commissioned by Shelter when the bill was first suggested, showed 943,000 tenants had been served Section 21 notices – equivalent to more than 500 renters per day.

However, various delays and liaisons with landlords cast concerns that the bill was more in favour of who was renting out properties rather than the individuals living in them. This sparked the creation of the Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC) which is comprised of 20 leading housing charities and campaign groups. They sent a letter to the government which criticise MPs for meeting with landlords twice as often to discuss amendments.

The letter read: ‘This legislation is intended to give the impression of improving conditions for renters but in fact it preserves the central power imbalance at the root of why renting in England is in crisis.’

If the Renters Reform Bill is re-introduced into parliament any changes that it wants to implement would require a law to be passed.

Although the future of the government is currently hanging in the balance, Jacob Young, who currently serves as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, has said that the Renters Reform Bill ‘will deliver our manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions and ensure a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords.’

Labour

In the Labour party’s manifesto, they have created a goal of delivering 1.5 million new homes, as part of the Kickstart Economic Growth mission. Within this project, Keir Starmer – leader of the party – has said he wishes to put councils and communities at the heart of housebuilding in their area. This could be a pledge that will be well received in London as new research has just revealed the majority of individuals living in the capital city have lost faith in the national government and would favour a devolution deal.

Similar to the Conservatives, Starmer has also revealed his party will be prioritising building on Brownfield sites. What’s more, the party plans to release and prioritise ‘lower quality ‘grey belt’ land’ where 50% of properties will be earmarked as affordable. This particular promise has caused concerns among environmentalists, though Labour have claimed there will be ‘golden rules’ to ensure any development benefits both the community and surrounding area.

Speaking of benefitting the community, Keir Starmer has further promised to introduce Awaab’s Law should he be elected. It’s no secret that growing numbers of homelessness and potential evictions are a major issue in this country, but there is an argument that if people are placed into housing riddled with physical health risks they aren’t much better off.

The law was originally introduced into the social sector in July 2023 following the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who lost his life after being exposed to too much toxic mould in his one-bedroom flat in Rochdale. The law will require landlords to investigate hazards within 14 calendar days and begin repairs a following seven days after the investigation. For emergency repairs, landlords have 24 hours to fix any issues.

Staying on track with what Labour have in common with the Conservatives, the party also wish to abolish Section 21 evictions immediately. Though Labour has previously shared there are ‘significant doubts’ around the version of the Renters (Reform) Bill as introduced, due to multiple provisions being removed from the bill after experiencing staunch resistance from Conservative back-bench MPs.

One of the changes Keir Starmer wants to implement within the Bill is requiring landlords and letting agents to state the amount of rent payable when advertising a property and, preventing them from encouraging prospective tenants to offer to pay more than this. Although, a prospective tenant would not be prohibited from offering to pay more than the advertised rent under the proposals.

It seems this new rule would help tenants from constantly being out of pocket – especially after research from the New Economics Foundation think tank last year found renters were paying £1,200 a year above the advertised rate – although Starmer is yet to confirm details on how this idea would actually run.

Images: Emily Whitehouse and Shutterstock

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The consultation is now underway on proposed changes to the way Leeds provides transport assistance for post-16 learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

At the minute local MPs and the leaders of political parties are fighting for the populations vote, however citizens in Leeds have also been asked to share their views on a new transport update that will affect SEND individuals.

Due to run until 23rd July 2024, a public consultation has been launched which highlights plans that Leeds City Council is considering changing the existing discretionary transport assistance for post-16 learned with SEND. Councillors have claimed it will help promote independence through travel.

Last week senior councillors approved the plans at an executive board meeting.

Currently, the local authority is statutorily obliged to make free of charge home to school travel arrangements for eligible children of compulsory age, there is no similar statutory obligation on the authority to provide transport for post-16 learners.

Officials have remarked that the changes would significantly help address financial challenges facing the council. As it stands they pay between £4m-£4.5m each year for transport assistance, with the number of learners receiving support having doubled since 2015.

‘We encourage as many people as possible to look at these proposals and give us their views by taking part in the consultation. It will be vital in shaping the decisions made in this area, so we want to hear what people think,’ Cllr Helen Hayden, executive member for children and families, said.

‘We remain firmly committed to supporting all those in Leeds with special educational needs and disabilities as much as possible, but the level of transport support we currently offer is not sustainable given the current financial challenges the council faces and the increasing level of demand.’

Cllr Hayden added: ‘We will be encouraging young people, their families, and partners across the city to take part in the consultation in order to reach a carefully considered decision on how to proceed.’

Although the policy seems negative on the surface, the council have assured that replacement options will be put in place should it be passed.  

These include:

• Considering travel distances to education settings
• Helping students make their own transport arrangements via a transport allowance
• Asking for a contribution towards transport costs
• Limiting support to post-16 only with support for post-19 learners ending

The feedback received in the consultation will be presented to the executive board in October 2024 with a decision expected on implementation from September 2025.

Image: CHUTTERSNAP

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With just one day left before we head to polling booths, new data from Savanta reveals Westminster has got a long way to go to win over Londoners’ trust.  This begs the question, could the devolution deal be a better option?

Commissioned by Centre for London, the research from Savanta, an organisation that specialises in B2B market research, shows just one in six people from the capital city trust the national government. What’s more, 31% were found to trust their local authorities and one in five said they trust city government, (i.e Mayor of London and London Assembly) the most.

With this in mind, almost half of Londoners (49%) admitted to Savanta that they support the decision for their taxes to be decided by councils rather than the powers of Downing Street. A mere 16% have opposed this view.

Antonia Jennings, chief executive at Centre for London, said: ‘With trust in national government waning, and support for greater devolution increasing, it’s time to re-think London’s devolution deal.’

‘It’s in the whole country’s interest for London to be firing on all cylinders, and in every Londoner’s interest for the city to become less manifestly unequal,’ Jennings added. ‘We know London needs to address its productivity and inequality crises, and fast. A new deal for London has the potential to be the key ingredient for making this happen.’

News of the research has come just one day before polling stations open in the UK for the next General Election. As it stands, polls indicate that the Labour Party will secure the most votes, which could be a pivotal step in securing a devolution deal. Should Sir Keir Starmer be successful, it will be the first time in eight years that national government comes from the same party as the London Mayor. As both authorities will be batting for the same team, MPs could have an unprecedented opportunity to work together under aligned goals.

Whilst unveiling his political manifesto last month, Starmer promised a ‘full fact devolution’ if his party are successful tomorrow. The Labour leader pledged a Take Back Control Act which would involve ‘harnessing’ and ‘unlocking’ the ‘pride people have in their communities’ and granting more power to directly elected mayors.

In addition, the amount (or lack of) taxes currently raised by the government and local authorities is another reason to suggest why devolution wouldn’t be such a bad idea. As it stands, they raise a mere 5% of taxes, which is significantly lower than comparable countries like the UK (32%) and France (14%). Local and regional government is funded through regressive council tax, devolving a proportion of business tax raised, and often competitive central government grants. All these measures are outdated and insufficient for London’s stretched government. Council tax bands remain set at the level of a property’s worth from 1991 in London. Meanwhile competitive funding pots are estimated to have cost local government tens of millions of pounds developing bids – the vast majority of which are unsuccessful. 

‘In some senses our results are not surprising – it’s long been true that when asked, people say they are more trusting of politics that is ‘closer’ to them, rather than national governments,’ Emma Levin, associate director at Savanta, said.

‘But our findings also suggest a partisan element to this, with Conservative voters more likely to trust the Westminster government they currently control, and Labour voters more likely to trust local and city governments – most of which are Labour-led.’

Background on the research

To conduct the research, Savanta interviewed 1,579 londoners aged 18+ online between 21st-26th June 2024. Data were weighted to be representative of all London adults by age, sex, region and SEG. Voting intention is also weighted by 2019 General Election and 2016 EU Referendum vote, as well as likelihood to vote. Savanta is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

Image: Steve Houghton-Burnett

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